First, Clear Up Which 'Gates' You Mean
If you landed here looking for pet gates for dogs or pet gates for cats, hang on for one sentence: this article is about Gates the industrial rubber and hose company, not pet gates. If you need a pet barrier, a pet store will serve you better. And if you searched for fenetre pvc - French for PVC window - this is also not that article. What I can help with is the comparison most procurement teams ask me about: polyurethane air hose vs rubber, and why the answer depends on your situation.
I'm a procurement manager at a 40-person industrial equipment company. I've managed our MRO budget - roughly $180,000 a year, give or take - for six years, and I've ordered enough hoses and clips to know where the hidden costs live. I'm not a materials engineer, so I won't pretend to explain polymer chemistry. What I can do is show you how to choose based on total cost of ownership, not sticker price.
No single hose is right for every application. The right one depends on how you use it, where you use it, and what it costs when it fails.
Four Questions Before You Choose a Hose
There is no universal 'best' hose. The right choice depends on:
- Will the hose move around with workers, or stay mostly in one place?
- What temperature, oil, chemicals, and sharp edges will it face?
- How often will it be under pressure, and what is the cost if it fails?
- Who is installing it, and how quickly can you replace it?
That's why the 'always buy polyurethane' argument and the 'always buy rubber' argument are both wrong.
Scenario A: Portable Work in Cold or Crowded Spaces
If your team drags an air hose around a shop, connects and disconnects all day, and works in unheated areas in winter, give polyurethane a strong look. Polyurethane hoses are lighter, stay flexible in cold conditions, and resist kinking better than many rubber versions. In my experience, those three traits matter more than the 'premium' feeling of rubber.
Why does this matter? Because every kink and every stiff coil is a productivity loss. One worker struggling with a heavy hose for ten minutes a day adds up to about forty hours a year across a five-person team. I'm not 100% sure of the exact math, but the principle holds: ergonomics have a price tag.
Common advice says rubber is always tougher, but that's not the full story. Polyurethane has excellent abrasion resistance. It is not the best choice around extreme heat or certain oils, but for a moving air hose in a cool, dirty shop, it's often the least frustrating option.
Scenario B: Fixed Installations, Heat, Oil, or High Pressure
If the hose is fixed to a wall or inside a machine, rubber or a specialized hydraulic hose usually wins. Rubber handles heat and oil better than standard polyurethane. It also has more cushioning when workers drag trolleys or chains over it. If the hose stays in one place, the extra weight doesn't matter.
Here's where I go against the 'lightweight everything' crowd. If the worst-case failure is a burst line that could damage equipment or cause a safety incident, don't save money on the hose. Spec a Gates hydraulic hose for hydraulic applications, or a reinforced rubber air hose for compressed air. This is one of those cases where 'good enough' is not enough.
Should mention: we once used a light-duty air hose for a hydraulic return line because it was cheaper. That decision cost us around $2,100 in repairs and downtime. I want to say the exact invoice was $2,347, but don't quote me on that.
Scenario C: Light-Duty, Stationary, or Budget-Critical
Now the contrarian take: PVC air hose is fine for many light jobs. You don't need an industrial rubber hose for a fixed blow-off station, a paint booth air supply, or a bench grinder. A good PVC hose will do the job at a fraction of the price. (Again, fenetre pvc windows are a different product; I'm talking PVC hose here.)
Why do I say this when most hose reviews tell you to buy something tougher? Because procurement is about matching cost to risk. If the hose fails, the consequence is minor and you have a spare. Spending twice as much because 'it lasts longer' doesn't make sense if the environment isn't destructive. In my opinion, the 'buy once, cry once' crowd ignores opportunity cost.
That said, PVC has limits. Don't use it where it will be dragged over sharp metal or exposed to strong solvents. It also gets stiff in cold weather. Use it only where those issues don't apply.
The Forgotten Cost: Air Hose Clips
Every hose is only as good as its connections. The first time we ordered polyurethane air hose in bulk, we didn't think about the fittings. We ended up with air hose clips that were the wrong size, and every joint leaked. We didn't have a formal verification process at the time, so the problem showed up on the production floor.
Here's the thing: a leak that's small enough to ignore still costs you compressor energy, tool performance, and sometimes product quality. In Q2 2024, we switched to properly sized crimp-style clamps and measured a noticeable drop in pressure loss. I can't give you a precise savings figure from memory, but the payback was immediate.
When you buy air hose clips, match them to the outside diameter of the hose, not the inner diameter. Also check the working pressure rating. A cheap clip that fails at 150 psi is a hazard, not a bargain. As of March 2025, the price gap between PVC and rubber air hoses is still wide enough that a light-duty user should not feel guilty choosing PVC - but the clips are not where you want to under-spend.
How to Tell Which Scenario You're In
Still not sure? Use these three questions:
- What is the worst thing that happens if this hose fails? If the answer is 'a person gets hurt' or 'a machine stops for half a day,' go toward the durable rubber or hydraulic end of the range.
- Does the hose move, bend, or coil constantly? If yes, choose polyurethane for flexibility. If no, weight and kinking matter less.
- Would losing the hose tomorrow be a major inconvenience? If no, you probably don't need the most expensive option.
When in doubt, ask a supplier for a sample and run it for a week. Yes, this takes time. But I've caught two 'right' hoses that were absolutely wrong for our fittings and triggers just by testing on the actual bench.
A Quick Word on 'Green' Claims
One more thing from the cost side. Some suppliers market hoses as 'eco-friendly' or 'recyclable.' If that's part of why you're paying more, ask for specifics. Per the FTC Green Guides (16 CFR Part 260), environmental claims need to be substantiated. I once paid a premium for a hose labeled recyclable and then found no local recycler would accept it. That was a learning experience, not a fraud case.
Bottom Line
If you want one answer: start with your failure risk, then your movement needs, then your budget. There's no 'always choose rubber' or 'always choose polyurethane.' That's the honest answer from someone who tracks every invoice.
For Gates hoses specifically, the brand has engineered rubber and thermoplastic options for air and hydraulic systems. Look at the application, not the color of the tube. And if you came here looking for pet gates for dogs or pet gates for cats, now you know: Gates is a hose company, not a pet supply company. Same for fenetre pvc - I'll stay in my lane.
I won't pretend to rank every Gates product or claim I've tested them all. What I can tell you is that the right hose with the right air hose clips costs less over the life of the system, even when the upfront price stings.